The TechMobility Podcast
Welcome to The TechMobility Podcast, your ultimate source for authentic insights, news, and perspectives at the nexus of mobility and technology. We're all about REAL FACTS, REAL OPINIONS, and REAL TALK! From personal privacy to space hotels, if it moves or moves you, we're discussing it! Our weekly episodes venture beyond the conventional, offering a unique, unfiltered take on the topics that matter. We're not afraid to color outside the lines, and we believe you'll appreciate our bold approach!
The TechMobility Podcast
Boston's Behind-the-Meter EV Charging Solution, Nissan Altima SR review, New Dealership Numbers Up, It's Faraday Future - AGAIN!
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Boston's innovative approach to EV charging infrastructure is reshaping urban mobility possibilities by tackling one of the most significant barriers to widespread adoption: access for apartment dwellers. The city's behind-the-meter curbside charging solution not only eliminates installation costs for homeowners but transforms their curb space into potential revenue streams. This groundbreaking system bypasses the need for utility grid enhancements while creating charging options for those without garage access—a critical step toward transportation equity.
What makes this solution particularly fascinating is the untapped potential of bidirectional charging. When an EV parks curbside, it's not just consuming electricity; it potentially becomes a mobile power bank. During outages or emergencies, these connected vehicles could sell power back to homes, creating a neighborhood resilience network while offsetting charging costs for vehicle owners. This reimagines electric vehicles as active participants in our energy ecosystem rather than mere consumers.
Meanwhile, Nissan continues defying industry trends with its commitment to sedan models. The 2025 Altima offers impressive value at $30,330 (with AWD) in a market where average transaction prices approach $50,000. Though solidly built with exceptional headlights and generous cargo capacity, the vehicle reveals its aging platform through absent modern features and surprisingly antiquated controls straight from the 1980s.
The American dealership landscape tells an equally compelling story of strategic consolidation. While Detroit automakers trim their franchise networks, remaining dealers achieve significantly higher sales volumes—particularly luxury brands seeking exclusive retail experiences. Toyota leads with an astonishing 1,607 vehicles per dealership annually (triple the industry average), demonstrating how fewer, more focused retail locations can drive exceptional performance.
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Speaker 2:I'm Ken Chester On the docket my review of the 2025 Nissan Altima sedan, the increasing US new dealership count and, believe it or not, faraday Future back from the dead again To join the conversation, be it to ask a question, share an opinion or even suggest a topic for future discussion. Call or text the Tech Mobility hotline, that number, 872-222-9793, or you can email the show directly. Talk at techmobilityshow. Also, please be sure to like, subscribe and follow us on social media, our YouTube channel and on our two podcasts, the Tech Mobility Podcast and Tech Mobility Topics. And I can tell you the Tech Mobility Podcast and Tech Mobility Topics and I can tell you our podcasts are pretty much available anywhere that you enjoy, podcasts, and I mean literally any platform. I believe we're, on last count, at least 22 different podcast platforms that you can find either show. So please find us, like us, follow us and listen in From the Tech Mobility News Desk.
Speaker 2:There's a lot of talk and we've done a lot of it here about EV charging and I know, before you groan, more and more news. Yes, it's generally unreliable. Yes, there's not enough of them, trust me, I know. Yes, you know to find one, and it is the question of affordability, availability, reliability, all of that. The reason why I bring this up one of my number one pet peeves on top of all of that is that the EV industry, as it is currently configured, is biased against apartment dwellers. If you live in an apartment, doesn't matter if you live in a city, suburbia, out in a rural someplace. If you live in an apartment and you want to own an EV, the odds are stacked against you, because right now, if you're a homeowner, you've got a garage or a driveway you can plug the sucker in. You can plug it into a level two charger at home overnight. Life is good. Life is wonderful. If you are an apartment dweller and you happen to live in an area where either the landlord is not enlightened, or it's an older facility where there are no charging stations near you at all, or you live in a part of the city where public charging is sporadic and may not be available, then you're out of luck and you don't get the benefits. Then you're out of luck and you don't get the benefits. I will not debate the benefits here, but I'm going to tell you this without getting into a whole long, drawn out conversation EV benefits are way more than the ecological benefits. We're way past that. If that is where you're at, why you won't own an EV, you have no clue, and we'll talk about that. If that is where you're at why you won't own an ev, you have no clue, and we'll talk about that another time.
Speaker 2:But I want to talk about the city of boston. I went to college in boston. Boston is an old city with narrow roads and generally is not friendly to cars. If you don't believe me, try a Boston winter sometime. Not friendly at all. It's tough enough to find a parking spot in the middle of the summer, let alone the middle of the winter, particularly after a snowstorm. It's hideous. But this is an article in an EV publication, from the EV report actually, and it says Boston has embarked on a groundbreaking journey towards sustainability with the introduction of the nation's first behind-the-meter public curbside electric vehicle charger in the Roslindale neighborhood Now Roslindale for those of you that don't know Boston, it's fairly out there.
Speaker 2:It's kind of an enclosed suburb, sort of it's part of Boston, but not exactly. It is not downtown Boston, not even close. You're probably a good 10 to 15 miles from, say, faneuil Hall and Haymarket Square and Government Center. You're not close. You're almost not quite way out there on the T, but you're out there a ways. You're out there in the bus route territory and towards the end of the traditional subway lines when you get to Roslindale. You're going to need to get a bus from Roslindale to get to the T, but Roslindale Behind the meter. That's actually plugged into the homeowner's setup, hence behind the meter. But here's the beautiful part the homeowner now has options. The way that they're doing this putting the meter out there, setting it up for the charger doesn't cost them a thing and, if they want, they can actually charge for it, which means that they could actually make a little change by supporting an EV network on their street that will allow somebody else, if they want to, to plug in that may not have access Streetside and, trust me, you park on the street in Boston A lot Because you do not find places to park.
Speaker 2:Parking is near and dear in Boston, so this is a big deal. They claim this is a vote for equity and EV access provides charging solutions for street parking drivers, addressing a critical barrier to EV adoption, and trust me when I tell you in Boston that is a big deal. Perks for the property owner, enables revenue from charging fees and boost property values at no installation cost, which tells me. The people installing them probably split the take with you, which is not a bad thing. Swift deployment installs in two days, paving the way for rapid citywide expansion. The utility doesn't have to get involved. If they did it street side and they had to get a drop from the power grid directly, more cost, more time and ain't happening. It just won't happen. This charger launch signals a transformative shift in urban ev infrastructure, with plans for hundreds more across boston in the coming year. As transportation and buildings account for nearly 99% of the city's carbon emissions, this step is vital for meeting climate goals. The behind-the-meter design eliminates the need for utility grid enhancements, reducing both costs and installation timelines, while easing electrical system strain.
Speaker 2:Here's a question that just hit me. Most of these vehicles, most of these EVs built now, are what we call bidirectional. That means that not only does it take a charge, it can provide power from the EV into a facility, be it a home, whatever. So here's a question that this article doesn't address If I have a bidirectional EV charged in front of your home, whatever. So here's a question that this article doesn't address If I have a bidirectional EV charged in front of your home, power goes out, do I have an agreement with you that you can buy power back from me Because I'm parked in front of your house Once my EV is fully charged? It is an energy storage unit. It has energy, it's charged, fully charged.
Speaker 2:You're in the middle of a blackout or because of a storm, an ice storm, whatever Power is knocked out, but guess what? I'm connected to you because I'm behind the meter in your grid. Do I get to sell power back to you? So, as the owner of an EV parked in front of your house getting charged, in the case of something like that, is that an opportunity for me to make a few dollars or at least, at the very least, to mitigate the cost of charging? Something to think about, something the article doesn't address that I just thought of Because it's really cool.
Speaker 2:But these are the opportunities that EVs offer that an internal combustion engine vehicle does not the ability for it to help pay for itself under certain conditions and guidelines that the owner gets to set. I have to believe that, if these setups are not currently set up this way, particularly since it's behind the meter and part of their system anyway, I sure as heck would be asking for the ability to say okay, I'm buying from you for so much a kilowatt hour. Now what happens? All right, I'm parked in front of your house, there's an ice storm, there's a snowstorm, whatever Power may go out, power goes out in your house and it's going to be a while before the utility can restore power. How much a kilowatt hour? Will you buy the power from me in my vehicle? I'll just leave my vehicle there and you can pay me, or at least reduce the cost of charging it, since I charge from your grid but you're buying it back, so there's going to be a cost differential.
Speaker 2:These are the advantages Ability to make money and to monetize things that up until now wasn't even an option. This is the future we're going in. This is what Boston has the potential to do, not just for the property owner, but I've got to imagine at some point, for the person who owns the vehicle may have conditional opportunities. Nissan still builds a mid-sized family car called the Altima. My impressions and review are next. You are listening to the Tech Mobility Show.
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Speaker 2:Social media is the main place to be these days, and we are no exception.
Speaker 2:I'm Ken Chester of the Tech Mobility Show. If you enjoy my program, then you will also enjoy my weekly Facebook videos, from my latest vehicle reviews to timely commentary of a variety of mobility and technology-related topics. These short features are designed to inform and delight you. Be sure to watch, like and follow us on Facebook. You can find us by typing the Tech Mobility Show in the search bar. Be sure to subscribe to our Facebook page. Social media is the place to be these days. We're no exception. I'm ken chester, the tech mobility show. If you enjoy my program, then you will also enjoy my weekly instagram videos, from the latest vehicle reviews to timely commentary on a variety of mobility and technology related topics. These short features are designed to inform and delight you be sure to watch, like and follow us on Instagram. You can find us by typing the Tech Mobility Show in the search bar. For those of you that listen to podcasts, we have just the one for you. Hi, I'm Ken Chester. Tech Mobility Topics is a podcast where I upload topic-specific videos each week.
Speaker 5:Shorter than a full show. These bite-sized programs are just the thing, particularly if We'll be right back. What good is a luxury car if it's so expensive? You can't afford to go anywhere.
Speaker 4:Nissan altima is the luxury sedan that says you've arrived and because, it starts under fifteen thousand dollars.
Speaker 5:It says you can still afford to go places To find out how smart driving an Altima can be. Call 1-800-293-0800 for the Altima profile. You'll get a video about how we precision craft the Altima and subject it to rigorous testing. You'll also hear from several very satisfied Altima owners. Call 1-800-293-0800. Your free Altima profile also includes interactive discs. Where do I even start?
Speaker 2:That was 1994, 95. Back then, and like a Pontiac commercial we ran some months ago, you'll notice, in order to get information you didn't want to go to the dealer, you had to call, order it. They mailed it to you. You put the disc in your computer, wait for it to ramp up, do your little thing, then maybe fill out an order which you either had to mail back or something, because email really wasn't a thing then. Can you imagine and we do all that now, literally real time, in seconds on our cell phones, in seconds, including querying your local dealer to see what vehicles are in stock and for sale right now, all of that on your phone. Back then it was a very drawn out process and, by the way, that was faster than even before, because before that you had to go to the dealer, get a brochure, take a test drive, sit with a salesperson, try to configure the vehicle if you wanted to order it, all of that stuff that now you can do in the privacy of your own home. The Nissan Altima. When that car came out it was unlike anything on the road. It was fast, it was luxurious, it was amazing and it took the automakers a little bit to catch up. Ford tried with the Ford Contour probably the closest thing that came to it, but Contour had its own challenges. But the Nissan Altima amazing car that's still around and still in production. So let me start with this In 2025, nissan still builds passenger cars plural for retail sale in the US market. Not one, not two, but actually four Altima, sentra, versa and the Z Coupe. And this at a time when most models from the world's automakers are trucks, suvs, crossovers or minivans.
Speaker 2:The Nissan Altima, as I said earlier, has been part of the automaker's domestic lineup for over 30 years, breaking into the marketplace as a 1993 model and I'll say it again, I remember when it was introduced to the marketplace and at the time there wasn't anything quite like it. Designed to replace the Stanza, the Altima debuted as a compact car, receiving a bump up in size to mid-size with the introduction of the second generation in 1998. The Altima is manufactured currently in Nissan's two American plants in Smyrna, tennessee, and Canton, mississippi, quickly becoming one of the automaker's best sellers. Sales of the Altima, if you can believe this, exceeded 300,000 units a year from 2012 to 2016. 300,000 units, that's a lot of cars. The sixth and current generation of the Altima debuted in 2019. The midsize Nissan sedan received a refreshing just two years ago, available in four trim levels.
Speaker 2:Purposes for this review, my review and impressions are about the Altima SR model and, for reference, this is not the bottom and it's not the top. It's the next to the top model, it's the Altima SL, which is the top of the line in this model range, and I'm not talking about that one. I'm talking about the SR. Power, for the Altima is produced by a 2.5 liter gasoline four-cylinder engine that makes 188 horsepower and 180 foot-pounds of torque. Energy is communicated to the drive wheels via an Xtronic, continuously variable automatic transmission with paddle shifters. All-wheel drive is an available option for this model Not all four models, but this model is one of them where you can get all-wheel drive and, for the record, this model that I test drove was all-wheel drive, all-wheel drive and, for the record, this model that I test drove was all-wheel drive. Epa fuel economy numbers are 27 city 37 highway for front drive, 25 city 34 highway for all-wheel drive. Cargo capacity is an impressive 15.4 cubic feet.
Speaker 2:Here's what I liked about the vehicle. Now, first of all, I have to commend Nissan for offering Modus, modern, viable choices that cost tens of thousands of dollars less to purchase than the current average new vehicle transaction price of almost $50,000. The Nissan Altima sedan is a solidly built, capable and thoroughly modern car Underway. The sedan is a smooth and strong performer that's easy to drive and it's one of the few vehicles on the road and I remember the Ford Contour for the mid-1990s as the other one that boasts what I call industrial-strength headlights and high beams. Talk about lighting up the night. In other words, if you can't see behind the wheel of this car at night with the headlights on, it's because you must be blind. I am talking bright people, like sunshine middle of the day, kind of bright.
Speaker 2:Inside the passenger cabin the infotainment system has a small screen but was easy to use. Seating was comfortable throughout the cabin and for those of you that need to know both front seats fully recline, just put it out there so you know. There's plenty of legroom in the rear seat. For rear seat occupants there are dual USB ports, front and rear. Front and rear occupants also enjoy a center armrest. The front has a deep storage bin, while the rear seat armrest has dual cup holders molded in. All four doors boast bottle-sized cup holders and that's important because they're not small, they will support a good-sized bottle. The cargo area is impressively large and the 60-40 split fold-down rear seat adds versatility and capacity. And as you would expect and you know you're going to hear it from me the Altima does have a spare tire and it's accessible from within the cargo area underneath the floor.
Speaker 2:So here's what I didn't like about the vehicle, and it's a list, I'm sorry. No adaptive cruise control, no compass indicator, no fog lights, no heated seats or heated steering wheel. The remote engine start I found to be fussy and that's a trend I saw with Nissans in general. No drive modes, smallish buttons in the steering wheel, which were larger and limited outward rear view. Interior lights are not LCD, which I find a shocker, and they're not bright like that. Not LCD, which I find a shocker, and they're not bright like that. And this, oh, I can't believe this.
Speaker 2:The gas door and trunk release levers are straight out of the 1980s. My 1986 Nissan Sentra had them in the place. This Altimus got them Right below the driver's seat, right to the left. Two levers Pull up on them, they release You've got to be kidding me. And the rear seat levers are trunk mounted and just as old, huh, geez. So here's the bottom line real quick. This is not the top of the line Altima model, but I was expecting a lot more for the price.
Speaker 2:The lack of a hybrid. No, 2025 Camry rolls as a hybrid exclusively. Although many automakers have discontinued the passenger sedan models in recent years, the ones that remain continue to invest and improve in the species. Sadly, I found, while the Altima was solid and capable, it shows its age and lack of big investment from the automaker in small and major ways. Let me give you this the manufactured extension retail price for the 2025 Altima SR starts from $28,830. All-wheel drive starts from $30,330. The destination charges add $1,140. The number of new car dealerships in the United States is on the rise. We discuss next.
Speaker 2:This is the Tech Mobility Show. Do you listen to podcasts? Seems that most people do. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. If you've missed any of our weekly episodes on the radio, our podcast is a great way to listen. You can find the Tech Mobility Podcast just about anywhere you can enjoy podcasts. Be sure to follow us from Apple Podcasts, iheart Radio and many platforms in between. We are there. Just enter the Tech Mobility Podcast in the search bar. Wherever you listen to podcasts, social media it's the place to be. We're no exception. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. Several times a week I post to TikTok several of the topics that I cover on my weekly radio show. It's another way to keep up on mobility, technology news and information. I've built quite a library of short videos for your viewing pleasure, so be sure to watch, like and subscribe. That's the Tech Mobility Show on TikTok. Check it out.
Speaker 2:Isuzu, suzuki, saab, eagle, plymouth, saturn, oldsmobile, hummer, pontiac and Mercury these are just a few of the automotive showrooms that have disappeared from the American landscape in the last 20 to 30 years. This has also resulted in a shrinking of the total number of new vehicle dealerships, but in the past few years industry pundits have noticed the number is growing and it's not from where you might expect. This is topic B. Automotive News gives a breakdown of the US car dealership count for 2024. And they looked at two things. They looked at the total number of dealers who, what and where and something they called throughput. Let me explain throughput.
Speaker 2:Even though some dealership makes or, I'm sorry, some automotive makes have shrunk the number of independently owned dealerships in the United States, the remaining dealers ended up selling more vehicles as a result. That made them more profitable. Now, in the case of Buick, cadillac in prior years, lincoln now and a few others, they're looking at pruning their dealer body, if you can believe that. Reason being is they want the remaining dealers, one, to make the commitment. Two, in a lot of these cases, to build what they call stand-alone stores.
Speaker 2:Used to be through the growth of the auto industry for many years you had makes that were linked together, like, for example, a Buick Chevy dealer, a Cadillac Oldsmobile dealer, a Buick Chevy dealer, a GMC Cadillac Chevy dealer, all kinds of combinations, and in some cases you might have had a Chevy Saab dealer, a Chevy Honda dealer, a Chevy Nissan dealer, same dealer co-located different dealerships and their franchise agreements back then allowed it, because if you were a new make trying to come into the United States, it costs a lot of money and you really wanted to link up with somebody who already had experience in running a franchise dealership, as opposed to taking a chance on somebody who's never done it, because you wanted your brand to be successful In today's world. We're kind of over that and what we're looking at now is they want auto manufacturers, want consumers, to have a very singular, brand-specific experience. So if they're an upscale manufacturer, if they're an upscale nameplate, they really want the dealer to invest in what they call a standalone dealership, not dueled with anybody. So that if you're talking Saturn, I'm sorry, if you're talking Genesis, it's a Genesis dealer, not a Hyundai Genesis dealer. If you're talking Chevrolet, it's a Chevy dealer, not a Chevy Buick dealer or, back in the day, chevy Oldsmobile dealer. They just want you to concentrate on that.
Speaker 2:So who's growing? Who isn't? Let me start with the numbers. As of January 1st, there were 18,311 new vehicle dealerships in the United States of America. The article goes on to say that each of the Detroit three automakers lost dealers, while import-badged automakers added stores. So who lost the most dealers last year? Ford Motor Company did. They lost 68. Gm and Stellantis shed smaller numbers, but they did. Gm and Stellantis shed smaller numbers, but they did. However, the industry's average throughput, in other words, the average new vehicle sales per franchise, rose. This is average for everybody, by the way 511 vehicles last year and that's up 28 vehicles from a year ago. That's, as of January 1st 2025, 511 vehicles. Now, if you take that times the average vehicle price of $50,000, it gets into real serious money, real serious fast. You can kind of understand that. Now I'm going to skip around. Us light vehicle sales through franchises in 2024 increased to just $15.35 million, and that was an increase. It doesn't include sales by electric vehicle brands Brightrop, fisker, carmel, lucid Rivian and Tesla Still $15.3. But it did include, for the first time, the Vietnamese EV maker, vinfast. They had 35 dealers as of the end of 2024.
Speaker 2:Bet you didn't know that the nameplate that lost the most franchises and it's by choice was Buick Down 135, down at 927. And it's down by more than half over the past two years because Buick has offered buyouts to their dealers. As of the beginning of 2023, it had 1,958 US franchises. Now they're down to 927. However and this is the reason why, with fewer franchises and a year-over-year 9.8% uptick in new vehicle sales, buick's throw put jumped by two-thirds. The average Buick dealer who was left sold two-thirds more vehicles than they did the year before. Talk about profitability, and really that's another reason why they did it.
Speaker 2:You know who else gained a GM? You ready for this? Chevrolet Chevy gained 153 exclusive stores. That meant if they were dueled with Buick and they took the buyout from Buick, it's now a standalone Chevy dealer. That made Chevy stronger and made Buick stronger. Gmc did the same thing. They're up 77. So again, they're looking at the experience. They're looking at the experience.
Speaker 2:Here's something I wanted to jump to because it blew my mind. Remember I said earlier that the average throughput for dealers was about 511? Mm-hmm. You know how many vehicles the average Toyota dealer sells 1,607. And that was up 3.1%. Three times as many Toyotas get sold on average A Toyota dealer sells. Three times else sells more than the average, believe it or not. That would be the Ford Motor Company and I want to get that number. I saw it and I believe the number was 682. Is the number for them that they sell more than average. It's not enough to shrink the dealer body.
Speaker 2:That's something that a number of dealers are doing. I mean a number of manufacturers are doing. Again, like I said earlier, it's because of the experience. They want the experience. They also realize that in this environment it makes the remaining dealers stronger. The manufacturer does not get weak with fewer points. They make the fewer points work harder and be more profitable, which also lets dealers make the investments the automakers want them to make in the experience New buildings, fancy materials, different presentation which makes it more attractive for the customer and more engaging for the customer, brings the customer in, helps sell more vehicles.
Speaker 2:If I don't have to compete with five Buick dealers in my community maybe two I'm going to make more money. If I'm going to make more money with you, I'm willing to make the investment. That's the thing. Hyundai Genesis same difference. Jaguar same difference, porsche they're growing same difference and they're spending a lot of money per point because they want that experience. They don't want to be co-located with anybody. They want you to come and have a Porsche experience, design and everything. That's where we're going with this. So the dealer numbers are going up slightly, but it's more about exclusive dealerships and more vehicles sold per remaining dealership. That's the takeaway from all of this that there's going to be fewer. They're going to sell more, but it's going to make more of an investment for you. That's the plan.
Speaker 2:Faraday Future is an EV maker that refuses to die. Our update is next. We are the Tech Mobility Show. To learn more about the Tech Mobility Show, start by visiting our website. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. The website is a treasure trove of information about me and the show, as well as where to find it on the radio across the country. Keep up with the happenings of the Tech Mobility Show by visiting techmobilityshow. That's techmobilityshow. You can also drop us a line at talk at techmobility dot show. Did you know that TechMobility has a YouTube channel? Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the TechMobility show. Each week I upload a few short videos of some of the hot topics that I cover during my weekly radio program. I've designed these videos to be informative and entertaining. It's another way to keep up on current mobility and technology news and information. Be sure to watch, like and subscribe to my channel. That's the Tech Mobility Show on YouTube. Check it out.
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Speaker 2:Social media is the place to be these days, and we're no exception. I'm Ken Chester of the Tech Mobility Show. If you enjoy my program, then you will also enjoy my weekly Instagram videos, from the latest vehicle reviews to timely commentary on a variety of mobility and technology-related topics. These short features are designed to inform and delight you. Be sure to watch, like and follow us on Instagram. You can find us by typing the Tech Mobility Show in the search bar.
Speaker 2:Since starting this program back in 2017, I've talked a lot about a number of new and promising EV startups. Some are still around, some have faded from memory and some, like Rivian, are thriving. You might remember Bollinger, one of the ones we first talked about, and another one that we talked a lot about back in the day was Faraday Future, a company that introduced its first prototypes to the world at CES back in 2017. It's one such company. I have detailed their ups and downs each time that I called them dead for sure, and they came back to life again. Well, it's back again and we discuss.
Speaker 2:This is topic C, the EV report, and I just learned a lot about this source that I use. See a little background before I get into this, because this is kind of a side note, this is free. I get into this because this is kind of a side note, this is free. I refer to a lot of different publications magazines, trade publications, all sorts of stuff and I usually cross-check it because I don't take just that. I usually get another source or two.
Speaker 2:The EV report that I took the original story from. But I didn't stop there because I knew the backstory painted this wonderful picture of Faraday Future and how modern it is and it's a leading EV manufacturer. Put a pin in that because they're not. And they're going to New York and they're going to do all these cool things now in the New York market. And I know for a fact for the last 10 years, between lawsuits starting and stopping factories, laying people off and almost going bankrupt, then getting money last minute, this has been its history. For 10 years we got money. No, we don't. We're going to build here. No, we're not. We're going to lay folks off. Yes, we are Everybody's gone. No, we're not. We're going to lay folks off. Yes, we are Everybody's gone. But though we're going to build this car here, no, we're going to pivot to vans, though. All of this is part of their history. I noticed the EV report didn't deal with any of that, which I thought was unfortunate. I mean, they were the rah-rah and that's fine, but I wish they had talked about everything else and they didn't. So let me start with what they did talk about, which is factual. The company now is called Faraday Future Intelligent Electric and it's set to break into the New York electric vehicle market, bringing its premium FF91, 2.0 and future FX models to the state. The company, based in California, announced plans for flexible leasing services through a strategic partnership alongside a New York Metro area office to bolster investor relations, and that is kind of they kind of tucked that in there.
Speaker 2:Here's some facts. To my knowledge, faraday Future has not built a thousand cars. I don't think they've built 500. Best I can tell, I think they've built a total of less than 50. So my question is all right, knowing what I know about the auto industry. It's something called product smoothing. What that is is that you ramp up a production line and you run that production line for a while, making changes and tweaks till it clicks, till people start getting it right consistently, the quality reaches a certain level and it gets good. And the longer you run that line. The better it gets, the higher the quality gets. Let me tell you something On average, it takes an average auto assembly line between 10 to 50,000 units to get to that point, to where they've got product that they can be proud of, that they're going to be okay with. And that's only after excessive testing, valuation and running it hot, cold, wet, dry, crashing these things in for EPA certification. All these things have to happen and it takes years and money.
Speaker 2:Nowhere in the history that I read did I see that Faraday Future did this. Now, they had to because, honestly, they cannot sell cars in the United States new cars unless they've done some of that, because the government requires all new vehicles to meet what they call federal motor vehicle safety standards. They got to meet them. There are some notch-out exceptions, but not that many and, trust me, if they're out there in New York, a very, very discriminating market in terms of the people that they're looking for, because these cars ain't cheap. If they're sticking to their original pricing, it's a six-figure car, and I can tell you I've driven a Lucid Air which is a six-figure car.
Speaker 2:And the Lucid Air they took their time and they built their plan and they did their testing for six years. Before job one, they tested on the Honda track. They tested all over the place. I saw their prototype about the same time in New York. About the same time Faraday Future showed it at CES in Las Vegas. And even then it was still another few years before it went into production. And it was actually six years from the time I started New York as a prototype to the time I actually drove one two years ago.
Speaker 2:And they've built way more cars than Faraday Future has. So I am taking all of this with a grain of salt. I'm just surprised they're even still around. Oh, they've got a fancy-looking website and the car looks really trick, it's really sharp-looking. But and this part kills me, and I'm reading this is not me. I am reading, I'm reading. This is not me. I am reading from EV Report, which is why I have an issue.
Speaker 2:The minute I knew they were in trouble with me when they said, and I quote Faraday Future, a leader in intelligent electric mobility. Stop right there, mm-mm, nope. You can say that of Lucid, you could say that of Rivian. Faraday Future, no, nuh-uh, bill. 50,000 cars. Come back and talk to me. 10,000 cars, come back and talk to me. Uh-uh, no, mm-mm.
Speaker 2:Known for its FF91 2.0, a luxury EV packed with cutting-edge tech, the company now plans to introduce FX models aimed at a wider audience with competitive pricing. Excuse me, fisker Automotive, which went bankrupt last year, built more vehicles than you did and they had problems. And actually, truth be told, they had contracted with a well-known and a very highly regarded automotive contract manufacturer to build them. They didn't do fly-by-night and they had problems. So forgive me if I am extremely skeptical about this whole announcement, Very skeptical, and I had to check the date.
Speaker 2:The date is March 11th, because for a minute there I thought it might have been April Fool's, and it's not. Can an EV manufacturer that has hardly built any and has had money problems since the day it was founded build a vehicle deliverable and it will meet with discriminating taste of a high level from people who are used to buying and owning the best? That's a question. Now, elon Musk pulled this off with the Model 3. We laughed at him because up to then they hadn't built 100,000 vehicles, but they built way more with the Model S than Faraday Future has built. Lucid has built more than Faraday Future. Rivian has built more than Faraday Future. We'll see. We've come to the end of our visit. Be sure to join me again next time, right here. This has been the Tech Mobility Show.
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